Gazpacho Ajo Blanco Recipes

GAZPACHO AJO BLANCO

Steps:

• Cover bread with cold water, and let soak for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cover garlic with water in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes; drain.
• Pulse blanched almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Squeeze excess liquid from bread, and transfer bread to food processor. Add cooked garlic, vinegar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Puree mixture until smooth. With machine running, pour in oil in a slow, steady stream, alternating with cup cold water, blending until emulsified. Blend in remaining 2 1/4 cups cold water. Strain through a fine sieve until smooth, discarding solids. Season with salt. Refrigerate gazpacho until chilled, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide chilled gazpacho among 6 bowls or glasses. Drizzle with oil and top with grapes, and Marcona almonds if desired, just before serving.

AJO BLANCO

Steps:

• Combine apple, garlic, bread, grapes, blanched almonds, milk, and 2 cups water in a medium bowl; season with salt. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.
• Transfer soup base to a blender and purée, adding water by tablespoonfuls if too thick, until smooth. With motor running, gradually add 3/4 cup oil and 3 tablespoons vinegar and blend until soup is emulsified. Season with salt, pepper, and more vinegar, if desired. Strain soup through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; cover and chill until very cold, about 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Soup can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread sliced almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until golden, about 4 minutes. Let cool.
• Divide soup among bowls; top with toasted almonds; drizzle with oil and vinegar.

RED AND WHITE GAZPACHO

Steps:

• For the gazpacho: In a blender, combine the cucumbers, verjus blanc or grape juice, fennel, grapes, almonds, apples, honey, vinegar, lime juice and salt to taste. Purée until smooth. With the blender on low, stream in the olive oil to emulsify. Adjust the seasonings. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or large liquid measuring cup. If serving immediately, chill in an ice bath until cold. Otherwise, chill the soup in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Season with additional salt.
• Create small piles of the julienned watermelon and apples in the center of each of four bowls, then scatter the sliced grapes around the piles. Ladle the soup around the piles. Garnish with the fennel fronds. Serve immediately.

SOPA AJOBLANCO

Steps:

• Rinse almonds in cold water; drain. Place in a large bowl; add enough water to cover by 3 in. Cover and let stand overnight. Spread bread cubes onto a baking sheet; let stand overnight., Place 1 cup bread cubes in a small bowl. Pour cream over bread; let stand 15 minutes. Drain almonds, discarding soaking liquid. Transfer almonds to a blender. Add bread mixture, broth, vinegar, garlic, salt and white pepper; process until blended. While processing, gradually add 1/2 cup oil in a steady stream. Transfer to a large bowl. Refrigerate, covered, at least 6 hours., In a large skillet, heat remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat; stir in paprika. Add remaining 1/2 cup bread cubes; cook and stir until golden brown, 3-4 minutes. , Remove soup from refrigerator, stir to re-distribute settled out oil. Divide soup among bowls; top with toasted croutons, grapes, chopped almonds and additional oil.

SOPA AJO BLANCO - WHITE GAZPACHO

Steps:

• In a small bowl, pour enough cool water over the blanched almonds to cover and let them soak for 15 hours.
• Remove the bread crust, cube it and press it down to make a cup; let it sit overnight. Remove the crust and cube a ¼ cup of bread for the topping; let it sit to dry out overnight.
• The next day, pour heavy cream over the 1 cup of bread cubes, enough to absorb without making them too wet. As we stir the ingredients, the dried bread will absorb enormously; let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Drain the blanched almonds and reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish.
• In the jar of a blender, add soaked bread, blanched almonds, chicken broth, sherry vinegar, chopped garlic, ground sea salt and white pepper.
• Place the lid and remove the cap. On low speed, process the ingredients until blended, about a minute. Taste and adjust if necessary before restarting the blender. In a slow stream, pour in the extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is all incorporated, taste again and adjust if necessary.
• Pour the soup into a large bowl, cover and transfer to the fridge for at least 6 hours.
• About 10 minutes before serving the soup, add a couple tablespoons of oil to a small skillet over medium heat. Add hot paprika and stir to blend with the oil.
• When it gets hot, add the ¼ cup of bread and toss it around until well coated. Toast them until they get a nice golden color, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and add a few bread cubes in the center of the bowl filled with soup. Add chopped blanched almonds on top, place some grapes around and finish with olive oil drops.